GSA Technology Council

Charlotte, NC — “Duke Energy must play a key leadership role in reinventing the electric utility industry in 2008,” the company’s chairman, president and CEO said today.

“Utilities must produce electricity that is clean, reliable and affordable — three critical but sometimes conflicting priorities that require a delicate balancing act,” Jim Rogers told about 200 shareholders at the company’s annual meeting.

“We face tough realities and difficult choices, but Duke Energy will be a leader in our industry and in our nation’s energy future,” he said.

While serious action on global warming is needed, the utility industry also must ensure that proposed federal climate change legislation does not bring unintended consequences or make electricity generation costs soar, resulting in rate shock for customers already facing skyrocketing food and gasoline prices, Rogers said.

Duke Energy and its fellow utilities must pivot toward a low-carbon future where energy efficiency, wind, solar, natural gas, nuclear and carbon-capture technology for coal plants take center stage, he said.

“The one thing everyone agrees on in the climate change debate is that we must fund an array of new energy technologies so we can fix this problem,” Rogers said. “A quick and meaningful way to do this is to place a small fee on every kilowatt-hour of electricity sold in the U.S.”

He called it “unacceptable” that both Europe and China annually outspend the U.S. on renewable energy research and development. “Our country is asleep when it comes to investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our nation needs a sense of urgency.”

A three-tenths of a cent ‘technology fee’ on every kilowatt-hour of electricity sold in the U.S. would raise $11 billion annually for research and development, increasing the average residential customers’ power bill by about $3 a month, Rogers told reporters after the meeting. “If we put this in place now, it would raise $70 billion by 2015.”

Energy efficiency is critical to the nation’s future, requiring massive utility industry investment that dwarfs previous efficiency spending, he said, citing Duke Energy’s large-scale save-a-watt efficiency proposal currently awaiting action by state utility commissions in North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana. “We want to make the communities we serve the most energy efficient in the world.”

via Duke Energy

Greenville, SC — KEMET Corporation has announced that it has been awarded Northrop Grumman’s Gold Supplier Award. This award recognizes KEMET for demonstrated excellence in product quality, on-time delivery, competitive pricing, and other value-added services in 2007. The award was presented at Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector’s annual Supplier Day conference in Long Beach, California.

“We are delighted to receive this award and to be recognized by Northrop Grumman as one of their most trusted and valued supplier partners,” said KEMET CEO Per-Olof Loof. “Our company’s goal is to become The Capacitance Company- the first company any electronics manufacturer calls for everything from products to design collaboration to custom development. This means we have to be the number one provider of capacitance, regardless of technology, chemistry, form factor or manufacturing process. It also means setting the standard in product and service excellence-working in partnership with customers to build the products and technologies of tomorrow while providing the service that differentiates us from the rest of the industry. Receiving prestigious awards such as the Northrop Grumman Gold Supplier Award helps us be sure that we are on the right track.”

Northrop Grumman Space Technology’s rigorous Supplier Rating Program requires suppliers and subcontractors to participate in an ongoing performance assessment. Gold suppliers are selected on the basis of a scorecard that rates each supplier’s management, quality, technical, schedule, and financial performance.

via KEMET

The South Carolina Department of Education will be providing $2 million in funding to 14 school districts as part of the 2008-2009 Enhance Education Through Technology grant program.  The aim of the program is to provide the school districts with updated and/or new laptop computers.

The main focuses of the grants are as follows:

• Improve student achievement through use of technology
• Assist every student to become technologically literate by the  end of eighth grade
• Encourage the effective integration of technology

The awarded districts were eligible for either a new grant of $200, 000 or a renewed grant of $80,000.

The fourteen districts receiving money through the grant are Barnwell, Chester, two Marion districts, Bamberg, Dillon, Hampton, Laurens, Dillon, Lexington, Chesterfield, Horry, Georgetown, and Florence.

Infor has announced that it has donated software licenses for Infor SCM Network Design, supply chain planning and analysis software to the University of Arkansas. Infor SCM Network Design will be implemented by the Supply Chain Management Research Center in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, as part of its ongoing research into supply chain management.

The Supply Chain Management Research Center serves as a direct link between the private sector and University resources, providing a forum for research, education and collaboration on supply chain issues among faculty, students and industry leaders. SCMRC is on the leading edge of supply chain management theory and practices in areas like optimization and environmental sustainability. Infor SCM Network Design offers the university’s research center access to software that companies use to strategically design their supply chain networks.

“Our goal is to use Infor SCM Network Design to put theory into practice, demonstrating how different variables impact efficiency and identifying the key characteristics of an optimized supply chain,” said Tremwel, PhD, research director, Supply Chain Management Research Center, University of Arkansas. “We expect this to be a valuable tool to help develop best practices for use in the private sector as well as an opportunity to expose our students to advanced supply chain technologies.”

Strategic network modeling is the process of modeling the entire supply chain to quantitatively evaluate network design options in terms of costs, revenue and service. Some of the world’s largest retailers, logistics providers, and manufacturers use Infor SCM Network Design to build models that incorporate relevant costs, facilities, nodes and modes. Based on these models, organizations can create hypothetical analyses to optimize their supply chain networks based on lowest cost and best service. More efficient supply chain networks benefit companies through reductions in fuel costs and their customers through a reduction in transit times, which improves service. Optimized supply chain networks also require less fossil fuel and generate fewer emissions, which benefits the planet.

“Research institutions like the SCMRC at the University of Arkansas are a vital part of supply chain practices,” said Richard Simpson, senior product manager, Supply Chain Management, Infor. “Infor is committed to supporting them and we gain equal value through the collaborative exchange of ideas with their faculty and students.”

Infor software is in use at number of colleges and universities around the world. Most recently, Infor and its partner Synergy Resources provided enterprise resource planning software, Infor ERP SyteLine, to Binghamton University and Farmingdale University, both part of the State University of New York.

via Infor

M3 Technology Group, a provider of customized professional and managed services for messaging platforms, has announced that Brad Lewis has joined the company as vice president of sales. M3TG is expanding operations by building a direct sales team to help maximize its position in the marketplace.

Lewis comes to M3TG from a role as vice president of sales at Verian Technologies, a Charlotte-based supply chain software company, which is the leading provider of purchase-to-pay technology solutions for mid-sized to large organizations. During the past five years at Verian Technologies, Lewis built and trained a direct sales team that significantly increased the company’s revenues.

“Brad brings a process-driven approach that leverages leadership, discipline and business analytics,” said Michael Byrnes, chief executive officer of M3TG. “His connection with customers and proven ability to grow successful direct sales organizations is a key to our growth.” Lewis previously held the position of managing director at Compuware Corporation, a globally recognized premier software and service provider operating in 99 offices in 31 countries.

Lewis’ experience in the technology industry, including more than 17 years of management and ownership roles in software and service, will be utilized to implement a customer-centric sales methodology that focuses on best practices for client need identification and fulfillment. He will hire and train a highly specialized sales team that will follow a unique sales process to help meet and exceed the ever-changing needs of M3TG’s growing customer base.

via M3 Technology Group

Fluor Corporation’s board of directors has approved a two-for-one stock split. The stock split will be effected in the form of a stock dividend of one additional share of the company’s common stock for each share held by shareholders of record at the close of business on June 16, 2008. The additional shares will be distributed on July 16, 2008. As of April 30, 2008 there were 88,702,644 shares of common stock outstanding.

The Board also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share on the company’s common stock, payable July 2, 2008, to shareholders of record on June 6, 2008. This dividend will be paid on shares outstanding before the aforementioned stock split.

via Fluor

HP today made it possible for colleges, universities and research institutions worldwide to participate in joint research with HP Labs, the company’s central research facility, through an open and competitive process.

The new HP Labs Innovation Research Program invites the worldwide academic community to submit proposals related to current research in the areas of information explosion, dynamic cloud services, content transformation, intelligent infrastructure and sustainability.

The program is the first offering of the HP Labs Open Innovation Office, which was established earlier this year as part of HP Labs’ new approach to research. The office is responsible for deepening HP Labs’ strategic collaborations with academia, the government and the commercial sector to produce mutually beneficial, high-impact research.

“Collaborating with the brightest minds is essential to making progress in solving the world’s most complex technology challenges,” said Prith Banerjee, senior vice president of research at HP and director of HP Labs. “We look forward to reviewing the proposals and investing in projects that drive open innovation and set the agenda for breakthrough research relevant to technology customers.”

Eligible applicants are encouraged to apply through June 18, 2008. HP will award selected applicants funding for one year, which will be renewable for a total of three years based on research progress and HP business requirements. Each award will include support for one graduate student researcher, who also will be eligible to apply to the HP Labs internship program.

“The research landscape is shifting toward a model of increased collaboration between academia and the private sector,” said Beth Burnside, vice provost of research, University of California, Berkeley. “The HP Labs Innovation Research Program is a great step toward mobilizing the sectors to work together in pursuit of scientific breakthroughs.”

Program guidelines and the online submission tool are available at www.hpl.hp.com/open_innovation/irp. Proposals will go through an extensive review process within HP Labs. Selected winners will be notified in late 2008.

via HP

Sprint Nextel Corporation and Clearwire Corporation have announced plans this morning to combine their next generation wireless broadband businesses into a new wireless communication company.   The new company, which will be named Clearwire, will have the focused goal of the developing of the first nationwide WiMAX network.

In support of this new merger and the development goals of the nationwide WiMAX network, five technology and communications companies, Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, have pledged a $3.2 billion invest to Clearwire.  

The hope is that the merger of Sprint and Clearwire and the initial $3.2 billion investment will spearhead access to the next generation of Internet use throughout the wireless community.  The collaboration between these different companies displays the growing interconnectedness of Internet, communications, media, and entertainment in the world and the desires of mobile device users to have faster and more reliable access to the web wherever they may be.

for more information read the Official Press Release  

via Sprint and Clearwire

Cisco, a networking, communication and collaboration provider, today reported its third quarter results for the period ended April 26, 2008. Cisco reported third quarter net sales of $9.8 billion, net income on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis of $1.8 billion or $0.29 per share, and non-GAAP net income of $2.3 billion or $0.38 per share.

“In the quarter, Cisco delivered solid financial results driven by our focus on innovation, our broad and growing global footprint, and our teams’ focus on delivering results,” said John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco. “We believe that our steady performance is based on Cisco’s unique balance across business and technology architectures and our continued focus on execution against our long-term strategy.”

Chambers continued, “Our optimism lies in our vision that the network is a strategic asset to optimize productivity and to enable collaboration in the second phase of the Internet, both of which are priorities for our success. The network is also a focal point for innovation, helping Cisco enter new and adjacent markets as well as strengthen or expand our positions in large, established markets.”

Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2008 were $29.2 billion, compared with $25.5 billion for the first nine months of fiscal 2007. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2008, on a GAAP basis, was $6.0 billion or $0.97 per share, compared with $5.4 billion or $0.86 per share for the first nine months of fiscal 2007. Non-GAAP net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2008 was $7.2 billion or $1.16 per share, compared with $6.1 billion or $0.98 per share for the first nine months of fiscal 2007.

Cisco will discuss third quarter results and business outlook on a conference call and Webcast at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time today. Call information and related charts are available at http://investor.cisco.com.

via Cisco

Today, Microsoft Corp. and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group (HKAG) entered into a long-term agreement to co-develop the next generation of in-car infotainment systems. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, and Mongku Chung, chairman of HKAG, were present as Martin Thall, general manager of Microsoft’s Automotive Business Unit, and Hyun Soon Lee, president and chief technology officer of HKAG, signed the agreement in Seoul.

Together, Microsoft and HKAG will deliver new and innovative solutions based on the Microsoft Auto software platform, bringing the future of in-car technology to Hyundai-Kia drivers worldwide.

“These new systems will redefine consumer experiences in the car,” Thall said. “Since the spring of 2006, HKAG and Microsoft have been sharing their vision for the future of in-car technology. We’re now aligned to develop the next generation of in-car infotainment systems.”

“We are pleased to partner with Microsoft to deliver high-performance infotainment solutions to our customers,” Lee said. “The advanced capabilities, flexibility and low price point make the Microsoft Auto software platform an attractive solution for us.”

The first product, a next-generation infotainment system that provides voice-controlled connectivity between mobile devices, will be introduced in the North American market in 2010. It will further apply to Asian and European markets, and expand into multimedia and navigation devices. These easy-to-use infotainment systems will allow consumers to enjoy music in various digital formats.

The next-generation infotainment systems are comparable to mini-PCs. Even after product launch, new functions can be added or upgraded in the form of software program updates, an innovation to existing in-car multimedia technology.

The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group’s adoption of the Microsoft Auto software platform increases Microsoft’s presence in the Asian car market and enhances the global automotive business. The engineering and marketing teams of Microsoft’s Automotive Business Unit in Redmond, Wash., will be working directly with counterparts at HKAG in Seoul to support this goal. Microsoft Auto-powered systems are currently available in Fiat Auto Group vehicles in Europe and South America and Ford Motor Co. vehicles in North America.

In a related announcement, Microsoft and Hyundai-Kia, along with the Institute for Information Technology Advancement (IITA), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-establish an automotive IT innovation center with the goal of promoting innovation and opportunities for Korean software and device vendors in the global market.

via Microsoft